Balanced scoring leads Quigley Catholic girls past GCC in Class A quarterfinals

By: Kevin Lohman
Friday, February 22, 2019 | 9:21 PM

Greensburg Central Catholic kicked off its WPIAL Class A girls basketball quarterfinal contest piping out, knocking down its first four shots.

Then, Quigley Catholic brought out the hose to secure a 71-55 victory.

After GCC ran out to a 13-0 lead, the Spartans (14-10) outscored the Centurions, 49-19, over the next two and a half quarters.

Though the fourth quarter was a close battle, Quigley had built enough of a lead to cruise to the win, punching its ticket to the semifinal round for the seventh time in eight seasons. The Spartans will play No. 2 Rochester (17-6) on Tuesday at a time and site to be determined.

“We knew they’d shoot the 3, and we knew they’d make some of them. We told the girls in practice all week to fight through that adversity. We knew GCC would go on that type of run at some point,” Quigley Catholic coach Bill Del Tondo said.

“We were cold shooting early and they were hot, so the mix of those two things had things looking bad at the beginning, but the girls really stuck with it. We said as long as we stayed together and played as a team, we’d get back into it. And we did.”

In the first half, sharp passing by the Spartans helped provide open looks for Clara Stephenson, Lillianna Briscoe and Hailey Drutarosky. The trio helped their team climb back in the contest, and eventually gain a 30-27 lead at the half.

Stephenson finished with 13 points, while Briscoe collected 19 points and 11 rebounds. Drutarosky added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

In the second half, Taylor Kirschner played the role of closer. Quigley’s do-everything guard totaled 18 of her 26 points in the second half and hit four 3-pointers to secure the quarterfinal win.

“It’s great for us to have her close things out. Taylor is our go-to player. We know that. But at the same time, when we mix it up and play better as a team, she gets better looks without our opponent concentrating on her,” Del Tondo said.

“It was truly a team victory. We talked about it in the locker room, and how everyone contributed. Clara, Lillianna and Hailey all played great out there. Even the girls on the bench stayed up and cheered on their teammates, and kept the energy up.”

The Centurions (19-4) opened the game on a hot-shooting run, and closed the game in a similar fashion, outscoring Quigley, 23-22, in the fourth quarter. Anna Eisaman racked up 23 points, including three 3-pointers, and Bella Skatell scored 11 points.

Melina Maietta went off in the fourth quarter for 14 points, in an attempt to will her team back. The Greensburg Central Catholic junior finished with 25 points but her and her team’s efforts could not overcome the dry spell that they suffered in the second and third quarters.

“Rebounding was key. Quigley gave themselves second-chance opportunities. They just made more shots then us. We missed some layups and other opportunities to get to the free throw line,” GCC coach Sam Salih said.

“In the end, I loved the way the girls fought though. They battled. That’s what I’m most proud of. Once we got down, we just expended so much energy trying to come back that we lost a handle on the game, but they didn’t quit. They kept fighting until the end. They’ve done that for me all year, and there’s definitely a lot of positives to take away from this year.”

GCC remains alive for a PIAA playoff berth via the WPIAL’s follow-the-winner format. If Quigley advances to the WPIAL title game, the Centurions will move on to the state tournament.

Tags: Greensburg C.C., Quigley Catholic